Christmas Giveaway 2023: Question 4 - Aeronautical Information Circulars (AIC)

Question

Aeronautical Information Circulars are notices relating to safety, navigation, technical, administrative and legal matters not found in the permanent AIP. These are organised into five categories, grouped by colour. Which category is represented by the colour "Yellow"?

1. UK Airspace Restrictions
2. Maps and charts
3. Operational, including ATS facilities and requirements
4. Safety topics

Explanation

Aeronautical Information Circulars (AICs) are just one of many aeronautical information services that pilots should regularly review as part of their pre-flight planning process and they can be accessed via the NATS website, free of charge, through their Aeronautical Information Service (AIS).

Aeronautical Information Circulars (AIC)

AICs are notices relating to safety, navigation, technical, administrative or legal matters not included in the permanent AIP. AICs publish advanced warnings of upcoming operational changes and add explanations or emphasis on matters of safety or operational significance. AICs fall into five categories depending on the subject, which are grouped by colour for ease of access:

• White – Administrative
• Yellow – Operational (including ATS facilities and requirements)
• Pink – Safety topics
• Mauve – UK Airspace Restrictions
• Green – Maps and Charts

As well as the AICs, NATS also publishes and provides free access to a range of essential information and documentation for pilots to use as part of their pre-flight planning and preparations, including:

Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)

The AIP contains information of a permanent nature that is relevant and essential to air navigation, which is updated every 28 days. The AIP is split into three sections:

• General (GEN): General operational, legal and administrative information
• Enroute (ENR): Enroute Airspace
• Aerodromes (AD): Entries for all licenced or certified airfields in the UK.

UK AIP Supplements (SUPs)

Temporary changes to the AIP, which are usually of a longer duration or contain comprehensive text/graphics. The SUP usually contains information of operational significance, for example details of major air exercises or aerodrome work programmes.

Notices to Aviation (NOTAM)

NOTAMs concern the condition or change to any facility, service, procedure or hazard notified within the AIP or the SUP, which is essential for those involved in flight operations. NOTAMs are usually notifications of temporary information (usually of less than 90 days duration) or permanent information yet to be included in the AIP.

NOTAMs are available from NATs using their Pre-Flight Information Bulletin (PIB) service, which accesses a live database to provide the most up-to-date information. It is helpful to check the NOTAMs a few days before your planned flight to see if there will likely be any restrictions in your area of operation. However, you should also check on the day of your flight, as NOTAMs can be issued at very short notice or only appear on the day they are valid!

VFR Chart Amendment Service

A complete list of amendments to current charts and other information relating to VFR charting.

WANT Brief

Pre-flight planning can be quite daunting, particulary when you are learning to fly! There is a vast amount of information that needs to considered prior to take-off, so to ensure that everything has been checked we have adopted the WANT brief here at Flynqy Pilot Training. This allows our pilots to mitigate against a range of internal and external threats and errors in a structured way, before even getting into the air.

You can download our handy WANT Brief postcard to assist with your pre-flight planning and threat and error management.

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